Category: Home & Family

Family & Home related items.

Crowded House, Fish & Chips, Foxwoods, and Cigarettes

Published on by Andy Affleck

Crowded House released their first CD in nearly a decade a few weeks back and it has been in heavy rotation at our house since. I thought it would be fun to take Ann to see them in concert and found out last week that they were playing at Foxwoods in just a week’s time. That sealed it. I got on the phone, got tickets and made reservations to stay overnight in the Great Cedars hotel (I figured we wouldn’t want to drive back so late after the concert was over).

We had a complete blast. Crowded House is absolutely wonderful live and lead singer Neil Finn is quite funny as well. Somehow he got on the subject of bassist Nick Seymour being hungry and needing fish and chips as well as how all of the band could use mojitos or, at the very least, tequila. Shortly after, tequila shots and limes were delivered to the front of the stage and at least Neil and Nick partook. A few songs later, a nicely dressed room service cart with fish and chips was rolled out on stage and Nick ate the fish and had a few chips. Neil then took the plate, had a few himself and then began walking along the front of the stage passing out chips to whoever wanted them.

I managed this picture with my iPhone during the concert:

Crowdedhouse-1

All in all, the concert was wonderful and it ended far too soon. And while they played a nice mix of old and new favorites (and a few songs I never remembered having heard before), they didn’t play Into Temptation, my all time favorite song. Ah well, as Ann pointed out, they could have played for four hours and have left us not having heard all of our favorites.

It was also our first visit to Foxwoods itself. That was a trip. We ended up not bothering to play any games in any of the casinos. It was just too smoky. Cigarettes were everywhere and smoke was everywere. It got pretty gross. But this morning we went to the Grand Spa and Ann got a massage while I “read” (listened to an audio book) and then took a dip in the whirlpool and swimming pool. I even sat in the steam room for a bit. By the end I didn’t want to leave the spa and have become addicted to the whole idea of the place. I haven’t been that relaxed in I don’t know how long.

Alas, we had to head home again and I am dog-tired now. But it was a wonderful way to start the weekend.

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John Francis Affleck: 1922-2007

Published on by Andy Affleck

When my father died, it was like an entire library burned to the ground.

—Laurie Anderson

My father-in-law, John, died last night. Ann and I sat with him and held his hand and talked to him for hours. He was very out of it but he did react as we spoke. His eyes and head moved, he squeezed our hands, and we could see his heart rate react on the monitor. At about 9:30PM he finally let go and died peacefully.

His obituary is as follows (reprinted from what we submitted to the local news:

John-F-Affleck

John F. Affleck, 84, of Garden Hills Drive, Cranston, died Saturday, June 23, 2007 at Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick. He was the beloved husband for 58 years of Harriet A. (Vucci) Affleck.

Born in Providence, a son of the late John A. and Ann L. (O’Dea) Affleck, he resided in Cranston since 1935.

Mr. Affleck was a mechanical engineer and worked at Leesona Corporation in Warwick for 29 years, and later at Gulton Industries in East Greenwich before retiring.

He was a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Force during WW-II, serving in the 37th Air Depot Group.

An avid golfer, he was a member of Sun Valley Country Club and Cranston Country Club.

Besides his wife, he was the devoted father of Ann Affleck and her husband Andrew of Cranston, and loving grandfather of Jack Affleck.

Funeral from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME, 1278 Park Ave., Cranston on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in Immaculate Conception Church, Oaklawn Ave., Cranston at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be private. VISITING HOURS Tuesday 4-8 p.m.